By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Il. – Krystal Heskin, formerly of Warren, was found murdered on April 18 in the Motel 6 she had been calling home for the past six months, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Elk Grove Village police told BTL that a suspect, Michael R. Davis, was arraigned on April 22 in what was apparently not a hate crime.
"Michael and Krystal had known each other for over five years; they were friends," said police spokesperson Mike Kirkpatrick.
According to Kirkpatrick, "An altercation occurred sometime Easter morning, [and] Mr. Davis struck Krystal upwards of 40 times in the head with a hammer." At his hearing, Davis was charged two counts of first-degree murder, and bond was set at $2.5 million. His next court date is May 19.
Rachel Crandall, MSW, executive director of TransGender Michigan, said that no one in her organization had known Heskin. And while this particular murder appears not to have had anything to do with Heskin's gender presentation, "Transgender and transsexual [individuals] are quite often murdered, and that's what the Day of Remembrance is all about," she said. "This happens all over, and we're all working so it happens a lot less."
